Humpback whales spotted off Hilo Harbor

Forums: Whales, Hawaii, Wildlife, Humpback Whales
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http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Humpback-whales-spotted-off-Hilo-Harbor/cmo6h1zFeUGkIvEas2lngg.cspx

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What a sight for folks on the Big Island Saturday morning. One of our viewers captured a photo of two whales off of Hilo Harbor.
The Coast Guard has been notified. They issued an alert boaters in the area to use caution.
The alert was in effect from around 9 a.m. It will remain in effect until sunset.
NOAA sid the whales do not appear to be in any distress.
Earlier this month, several humpback whales were spotted in Honolulu Harbor.
Officials say it is not uncommon for whales in Hawaii. They usually visit the islands every year October through February.
Humpback whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection.
Its population in the North Pacific is estimated between 10,000 to 12,000. The population annually grows somewhere between 3 to 5 percent a year.

　
Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time. I was up in Volcano, reveling in the rainforest. Damn!

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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 2,049 • Replies: 11

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@Lustig Andrei,

Quote:

Unfortunately, I wasn't there at the time. I was up in Volcano, reveling in the rainforest. Damn!

Yeah, damn, Andrew!
That would have been a sight to see! Smile

Hope your rainforest revelings were enjoyable, though.

1 Reply

@msolga,

Thank you, msolga. The rainforest -- especially when right on the side of an active volcano -- is exciting enough. But I do wish I'd seen those whales.

1 Reply

@Lustig Andrei,

They are coming to Hilo to see tv of the Ravens winning the Souperbowl.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

Bull turds.
The Patriots will make mincemeat of the Ravens. I'll be watching on the big screen of the Hilo Elks Club.

1 Reply

@Lustig Andrei,

Sweet - you have good taste my man...my good friend is a Marine Bioligist and her speciality is whales. So I get the good fortunate of viewing these magnificant creatures almost annually (or when I get my butt down to the boats) - not in Hawaii, but in New England....

Go Pats.

And go Elks! Love those guys - they sponsor an event that my little one participates in - they do great things for the kids.

1 Reply

@Linkat,

First time I ever saw whales up close was on a whale-watching boat tour out of Gloucester (MA) harbor, Linkat.

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@Lustig Andrei,

Are humpback whales rare in Hilo? Three years ago my wife and I went to Maui for our honeymoon, and humpback whales were a common sight from the costal highway there.

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@InfraBlue,

They're rare in the well-traveled sea lanes, InfraBlue. Whales are plentiful along the Kohala coast on the North end of the Big Island and not rare on the Hamakua Coast. But these suckers coming practically into the harbor was rare. And, as the story says, prior to that some had been seen in Honolulu harbor at the island of Oahu. That's a dangerous place for them to be. Pearl Harbor and maneuvers by the Pacific Fleet and all that, not to meention cruise ships coming through.

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@Lustig Andrei,

The boats she works on go out from Plymouth. There are some great sightings during certain times of year. I remember going out once and I couldn't believe how many humpbacks and minkie (not sure the correct name) - but the humpbacks were very active breaching and splashing with their tails.

My friend was commenting on the speaker - this is very unusual to have this much activity - it takes lots of energy for the whales to jump out, etc., etc. I asked her later was that true (or just for show to say those things) - she said that was incredible - about the most activity she has seen. So I guess I got quite lucky.

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Here's he latest on Hilo whale watch:

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2012/01/31/video-whale-watchers-line-up-in-hilo-to-count-humpbacks/

Quote:

HILO, Hawaii: A crowd was out along the shore in Keaukaha on Saturday, watching the waters for Humpback Whales.

It was the kick-off of the 2012 Sanctuary Ocean Count, and there were plenty of volunteers here at Onekahakaha Beach Park.

And there was some action, out in the distance on Hilo Bay.

The Sanctuary Ocean Count project offers the community a chance to monitor humpback whales from the shores of O`ahu, Hawaii and Kauai. The count is held the last Saturday of January, February, and March – during peak whale season – from 8:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

The enjoyable day at the beach helps to provide important population and distribution information on humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.

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@Lustig Andrei,

Unfortunately, the video and pix available at the link are, apparently, not downloadable.

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Humpback whales spotted off Hilo Harbor

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